The InvestMichigan Mezzanine Fund is the latest in a series of InvestMichigan funds focusing on growing a new generation of Michigan companies and generating strong returns for investors. Launched in July 2011 and co-managed by Credit Suisse and Beringea, the fund will invest $5 million to $15 million (up to $130 million) in a broad range of lower-middle-market Michigan companies, including those in the industrial manufacturing, business services, health care, technology, and consumer products sectors. “The program was formed in partnership with the SBA through its new Startup America SBIC Impact Investment Initiative,” said Beringea Senior Managing Director and Co-Founder Charles Rothstein. “Michigan was the first state to benefit from the initiative.” To date, the InvestMichigan Mezzanine Fund has invested in three companies: Dantom Systems, Inc., Huron, Inc., and a premier Mich.-based food distributor.
Beringea is the largest provider of venture and growth capital in Michigan. Headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan with an additional office in London, Beringea has more than 70 portfolio companies in the US and UK. “It’s important that the entire entrepreneurial community works to change the message that Michigan is a flyover state,” said Rothstein. He notes that the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) is helping to change that image. “The Symposium helps send a signal that Michigan is a place where technologies are commercialized, young companies can grow, and investors are receptive – which in turn attracts new entrepreneurs and resources to our state as momentum grows.”
Beringea is a long-time sponsor of the MGCS. “We believe in its mission of showcasing the best young companies in the Midwest,” Rothstein said. “We find great value in the exposure MGCS offers us to entrepreneurs that might otherwise have travelled under our radar, and in turn we’re able to share our funds’ investment strategies with a targeted audience.”
For more information on the InvestMichigan Mezzanine Fund, click here.